Troubled
by 70's Lover
Summary: Lori had a good life until her dad got fired. After running from a fight with her dad, the main thing she could hear was her father saying, "she's worthless, why have her around?" That made her cry even harder. Will her friends help keep her from trying something stupid? Or has she been pushed to far to come back?
1. The Fight

Disclaimer: I own no one from The Outsiders. I do own my OC Lori and her family.

Lori was sitting in her room, listening to the arguing that was going on that was coming from downstairs. She hated it when her family started fighting. It was her mother, father and older brother Ken again.

She carefully listened in more and heard "Kenneth, what do you think you're doing in a gang?" from their dad. She rolled her eyes and just wished they'd stop.

Lori has had a bad life, mother and father both are drunks, brother is over protective. Her father would go to a bar and not come home for what seems like forever. When he'd come home he'd take his anger out on the family. The main one the anger was towards half the time was Lori.

But she found out that the tree outside her window is a good climbing tree. Every time the family would start to fight she'd climb down the tree and go for a nice long walk. Even though half the time she can hear her family fighting for a mile down the road.

Lori sighed a pissed off sigh when she heard her father call for her. She got up and went down to the living room and her dad threw a beer bottle at her, then he decided he was going to pin her against the wall and smack her some.

Lori learned to take his blows, but sometimes she just wishes she was dead. Dead to the world and her family. She felt the blood pour out of the cut on her arm her father gave her from the beer bottle. She winced when he hit her with a closed fist on the cut.

"You're a worthless tramp," her dad said and that was when Ken had enough. He was doing all he could to get their father off of her and to help Lori breath. Their dad had his arm on her neck trying to kill her. They all knew he was drunk; he does this all the time when he's drunk.

Lori had a flashback of before her father lost his job.

_They were walking the streets to go get some ice cream. She loved the daughter-father times they had. He'd always order her more then her mother would allow. But her father would always tell her mom that it's not every day he gets to spoil his daughter, even though it was every day they'd go get ice cream and go to the park and play._

Lori came back to reality when she felt her fathers knee in her gut. She wanted to scream out but couldn't. She felt the tears building up and suddenly he was off of her. She fell to the floor breathing hard to get the air back into her lungs. She coughed some and a little bit of blood came up.

"You okay?" Ken asked kindly and she nodded, got up and leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath more. She slowly slipped her shoes on as well as she could.

The whole time she couldn't stop blaming herself for her fathers drinking. She blamed herself because when she was ten she got into a fight with some neighborhood kids and ended up in the hospital and her father was so worried over her. She thought that was when he started drinking then remembered the faithful day he got fired.

_Lori was in the living room playing cards with her brother while her mother and father were at work. Lori was winning the game and didn't know that Ken was letting her win._

_They heard their dad's car pull in and the door slam shut. Lori gave Ken a confused look and he just shrugged. Thinking he was sent home since there wasn't any work to do. Their dad came in._

"_Daddy, wanna play?" Lori asked kindly with a smile. Happy her daddy was home._

"_no," was all their dad said and went to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Lorraine had tears in her eyes and Ken held her close so she could cry. Their dad came out and saw Lori crying, "Stop crying you damn baby."_

_That just made Lori cry harder. Her dad walked over and slapped her as hard as he could making her fall to the floor. Ken picked her up and took her to his room where she could cry all she wanted. Lori wanted to say something to her brother but couldn't' because of the tears._

From that day on her father has been a drunken, abusive father. She couldn't even let out one tear without him smacking her. She was scared as hell of her father. Most girls have perfect relationships with their dads.

When Lori got her breath back she got up and ran out the door. Forgetting a jacket. Her brother stopped their father from following. Which made Lori sigh in relief, she walked down the street and could still hear her family yelling at each other.

The main thing she could hear was her father saying, "she's worthless, why have her around?" That made her cry even harder. She got to a light pole and sat down. She brought her knees up to her chest and just cried as hard as she could. She knew her eye-liner would be running but she didn't care about that. She only cared about killing herself right now since it seems like that's the best thing to do.

She reached down to her sock and got her knife out and just sat there staring at it. Thinking if she ended her life, maybe then her family would realize how much she's needed around the house and stuff. She played with her knife, twisting it and stuff in her hand.

She closed her eyes and thought back when she was four or five,

_Lori was sitting in her room and her dad came in._

"_hey Lori," her dad greeted with a smile and sat on her bed. Lori didn't reply since she was busy crying, "hey Lorraine what's wrong doll?"_

"_Just stuff going on at school is bugging me," Lori said and felt herself get tackled on the bed and tickled, "I give!" she screamed with laughter. Her dad stopped and helped her up._

"_So, feel better?" He asked and dragged her out of her room and down the stairs ,"Get your shoes on, we're tossing the football around."_

_She smiled at that and did what her dad said since she loved to toss the football around. After she had her shoes on she ran out the door with the football in hand. Her dad passed her and stopped at the bottom of the steps. Lori smiled and got onto her dad's back, "By the way, I do feel better, I love you dad."_

"_I love you too kiddo," her dad replied and they went to the lot to play football._

Lori just sat there and cried at the sound of her family fighting. Why the hell do they have to fight all the time? She kept asking herself. For some reason the only reason she could think of was her dad's drinking.

She went to get up but decided to just sit there and thin more. The main thing she wanted to do was go get a beer somewhere. She sighed and just stayed in her spot since her neck and stomach was hurting like hell. She looked at her arm, it stopped hurting but the blood was still pouring out. She searched her pockets and found two handkerchiefs she took one and tied it around the cut and prayed it'll stop bleeding soon.

As she was sitting there a black car showed up. She gripped her knife tighter, willing to fight if she had to.

"Damn it girl, why the fuck are you out here?" she heard a husky voice. The voice of the guys she could always count on.

"Tim?" she asked in a weak voice. He went over to her and saw how she was holding her knife. He quickly took it and stuffed it in his pocket, "give it back, I need to die."

"No, I can't and won't let you die this way, it's not your time," Tim growled as he dragged her off the sidewalk and to his car.

"Tim, please, just let me," she begged as she was shoved into the car. She started crying harder. He got into the car and headed to the hang out. Once they got to the hang out he went over, picked her up after he got the door open and took her inside.

"Why do you want to die so bad Lori?" Tim asked as he placed her on the couch next to a couple of the guys.

"I'm worthless and a burden to everyone," she told him through tears of pain.

"No you're not Lorraine, you're not worthless and you're not a burden to anyone," Mark told her as he placed an arm around her shoulders.

"I am to a burden, ask my family," she told him getting off the couch and went to the fridge. She opened the fridge and got a beer out. Before anyone could stop her she had the top off and drinking it.

"Your father is a drunk, he doesn't know what he's saying anymore Lori," Tim told her taking the beer from her hand, "Don't even think about getting another one, you do Ken will be killing you."

"Good, then I won't have to deal with anyone's shit anymore," she mumbled and left the hang out.

"Lori?" she heard from behind her.

'What?" she asked in a rude tone. Not wanting to talk to anyone.

"I'm sorry dad did that to you," Ken told her and that made her cry even harder. "Lori please sis, stop crying." He took her in his arms and let her cry more if needed. He hated to see his sister fall apart like this.

She just leaned against him crying, to sore to move anymore. He picked her up, sat on the couch and held her close.

"By the way Ken, when I found her she was holding her knife like she was going to slit her wrists," Tim told him and he just sighed not sure what to say to anyone.

"Where's the knife now?" Ken quietly asked since Lori fell asleep in his arms.

"My pocket," Tim replied as he picked Lori up. He then took her to his room to sleep.

Tim went back out to Ken and they both weren't sure what to do anymore.

"That cut was bad, I will take her to the hospital if it doesn't start to heal tonight," Ken replied, the first thing that came to his mind.


	2. Older Brother and Stitches

The next morning Ken went in to talk to Lori and to check on her. "Sis?" he asked kindly.

"Hmmm?" was all he got from her.

"I just came to check on your cut and to see how you're doing," he replied.

With a sigh she sat up, "I'm okay and the cut is fine," she told him in a stern mixed with annoyed voice.

"What's eating you?" he asked.

"Just sick and tired of everyone thinking I can't take care of myself, this place we are in, is the only home I know of as of right now, if dad wants me he can file a missing person's report," she bellowed.

"Sis?" he asked seeing the tears build up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Kenny, I didn't mean to blow up at you like that," she apologized, "the cut is fine just hurts."

He sat down on the bed with her and took a look at the gash, "it needs stitches, thank goodness you have that insurance."

"Yeah, well, let's go, I'll grab one of Tim's t-shirts since he doesn't mind if I borrow one, once and a while," she told him getting up and getting into the closet and taking out a button up shirt and tossed it to her bed.

Taking her t-shirt off slowly she removed it and tossed it over to the pile of dirty clothes that is in the room. She slipped on Tim's black button up shirt, rolled the sleeves up to her elbows, buttoned all but the top button, tied the bottom in the front after gathering it up so it wasn't hanging down on her butt, "ready," she told him.

"Not until you use the hair brush I know you have here and make something out of that rats nest," he told her with a smile.

She went to the bathroom and grabbed her hair brush and did her hair. After it was brushed and all the knots were out she put it in a ponytail, even though her arm hurt more when she moved it.

"Now we can go," Ken told her and she chuckled and followed him to the main room.

"Tim, I'll be back later, I'm not going home to jackass, keep the bed open for me, yes you can share since it is your bed also thanks for stopping me from killing myself last night," Lori told him.

"Okay and anytime Lori, I'd be lost with out you, since you keep the guys in line around here and all as for the bed, I know you like sleeping by the wall," he told her with a smirk.

She chuckled and followed her brother out the door to go get stitches.


	3. Knight in shinning Armor

Later that day Lori and her brother decided to go home to see how things were going. Lori was scared to death to go there after what her father did to her.

Arriving at the house, her heart was pounding so hard she thought she was going to pass out. Glancing at her brother who just nodded to her. She wasn't sure what that was for but she followed him inside after getting out of the car anyways.

Entering the house, things were still and quiet, to quiet to be honest, "M-Ma?" Lori called with scaredness written all over her tone of voice.

"Kitchen," she heard her mother mumble.

Upon entering the kitchen Lori stopped seeing her father there.

"Lori-Ann!" her father hissed with venom in his voice.

Lori backed away and ran into her brother, she glanced up and felt a shove.

"D-Dad," was all she got out when the dry skin covered hand hit her face.

"Shut it!" he called, "how dare you run out on this family!"

"You've done it plenty of times father, I guess it runs in the family!" she shouted and ran up the stairs in the kitchen to her room, slamming the door shut and locking it.

Quickly picking up the phone she dialed a number, "Come get me," she said when she heard the voice on the other end of the line, "thanks." she hung up, ran to her closet, grabbed her two big back packs and shoved all the clothes she could into them. Glancing at the window when a 'tap-tap' came a soft smile appeared on her face as she opened it and allowed her 'knight in shining armor' to enter.

The two of them packed as much clothing they could in her bags and just as she got them out the window the stomping came up the stairs. Rushing she threw the last of her items out the window into the back of the pickup that was parked there. Just as she climbed out and got the window shut, her drunken father slammed her door open.

As quick as she could she got down the tree and into the back of the truck where from there her friend and her left the yard and headed to a safe house.

A few hours later they finally arrived at the safe house. Rolling onto her right side a smile formed seeing the old building in front of her.

"I forgot how nice it was up here," she told her friend with a smile.

"I know, I'm glad you called and wanted me to save you," her friend replied with a smile as the two of them went inside the house where Lori will be staying for a while.

"I, I'm going to call your uncle whose the chief of police in Tulsa and let him know I want protected from my father," she told him with a sigh.

"Alright Lori," he told her and watched as she went to the phone and then stepped behind a wall so she could talk more privately.

Deciding that sitting around was boring he got up, went to the truck and unloaded all of Lori's items and took them to the only bedroom in the place where they will be sharing a bed. Entering the living room he saw Lori sitting on the couch with a confused look in her eyes, "you alright?"

"Yeah, fine, just, your uncle is filling out the paper work for the judge to sign. He knows what's been going on and he aid since you're over eighteen and I'm almost eighteen I could stay with you until I'm eighteen then I'm free to do what I want," she told him.

"Your birthday is when again?" he questioned.

"July tenth, one month from now," she replied.

"Alright, I knew it was in July just forgot what day, is all," he replied.

She smiled but didn't know what to say, she always knew she could count on him, but to be honest, she had a crush on him like no one would know.


End file.
